I was not financially compensated for this post. I received a sample from SweetWorks.com for review purposes. The opinions are completely my own based on my experience.
I know the holidays are behind us, but I wanted to share some photos from the cookie exchange party/cookie decorating play date I hosted last week. I’m plannI’ll also share a few cookie exchange party tips and tutorials for you to pin for next year. SweetWorks, the candy company that makes Sixlets, so kindly sent us some fun party supplies for the event. I LOVE using coordinating colored candy in my parties and I was like a kid in a candy store (literally) when the box full of candy arrived at my doorstep. I crafted up these fun trees to match my party by hot gluing Sixlets to a foam tree and hot gluing a painted candlestick to the bottom. Easy peasy but a little time consuming. You can spray the trees with shellac to preserve them for use next year or use royal icing instead of hot glue to make them edible (stay tuned for a full tutorial next year).
Each mama brought 1/2 dozen cookies per guest to exchange and an extra couple dozen for sampling at the party. I used free printable cookie voting ballots from Lauren Haddox and had guests vote for the best tasting cookie, most unique, most creative and best decorated. Winners got a bag full of cookie making supplies, including festive Sixlets and other fun edibles from SweetWorks. From cornflake wreaths to peanut butter cookie sandwiches, we were all in a sugar coma by the end of the party. It was oh so much fun getting there and guests got to take home a box full of cookies, you know just in case they didn’t get enough sugar at the party lol. I packed up the to go cookies in large shirt boxes I found at the dollar store and lined them with parchment paper. Guests got to take home SweetWorks edible pearls and cookie cutters as party favors.
What’s a cookie party without cocoa?! I’ve been looking for an excuse to set up a hot cocoa bar and this was the perfect opportunity. I filled up a few jars with mix-ins, like marshmallows and chocolate Sixlets. The “Merry & Bright” sign was made using my Silhouette Cameo and you can find my paper ornament garland tutorial on Celebrations. I made chocolate covered stir spoons and embellished them with SweetWorks edible pearls to match the party. The chocolate and candy on the spoons melt as you stir them into the hot cocoa. These stir spoons are super easy to make and are a great touch. Learn how to make them below.
Hot Chocolate Stir Spoons
Materials:
Wooden Spoons
Chocolate Candy Melts
SweetWorks Pearls
Parchment Paper
Instructions: Melt chocolate candy melts according to package, taking care not to over-melt. Dip the ends of the spoons into the chocolate and place on parchment paper. Place a few SweetWorks Pearls on the spoon before the chocolate melts. Allow to dry and harden. Enjoy!
While the mamas exchanged cookies, the kiddos decorated sugar cookies with edible pearls and Sixlets from SweetWorks. I love filling small baking tins with the edible decorations for kids. The tins are just the right size for little hands to grab things out of and it helps contain the mess versus letting kids have free reign over the bottle of sprinkles (yikes lol). I also like to use vinyl table cloths when decorating cookies with kids. They may not be pretty in pics (those wrinkles make my type A self cringe lol), but they are wipeable and I’m not going to fret if they get ruined because they are pretty cheap. If you have younger kids (1-2 years old), I recommend icing the cookies ahead of time and then allowing them to decorate their little hearts out. Older kids (3+) can help ice the cookies using plastic or kid-friendly knives. After cookies decorating was over, the kids got to decorate a festive little bookmark…or some opted to run around my house in a sugar daze (my son included) lol! So much fun!
I’m planning a similar cookie decorating party for Valentine’s Day at my son’s preschool. With 30+ kids, it’ll be a tad more structured, but I’m sure the kids will love decorated heart shaped cookies for a fun snack! I’ll keep you posted on how it goes.
You might also like my edible party hat tutorial and gumball clock tutorial.
